Children account for over half of the 12 million West and Central African people on the move each year, with some 75 per cent of them remaining in sub-Saharan Africa, and less than one in five heading to Europe. The publication looks at the main drivers behind regional child migration and displacement, as well as longer-term implications for the region if these large scale population movements intensify as projected with current trends in population growth. The report finds that the region lacks sufficient protection systems – both within and across borders – to ensure the safety and wellbeing of refugee and migrant children, a gap which will become more pronounced with the projected increase in both national populations and migration.